Stanley Park in Bloom

I have always been a terrible one for taking an indirect route wherever I am going. I always feel compelled to take a detour along the way. On a recent trip into town, I could have walked in a straight line down Park Drive, but instead I took more of a 'v' shaped stroll through Stanley Park. This is a place you not to be miss this time of the year. The ducks are out, the lawns in trim, the flower displays are magnificent. This park is the pride of Blackpool without a doubt.

A few things you probably didn't know... The park covers an area of 256 acres with a rough circular perimeter of 2.2 miles. The park has a grade II listed status and is a garden of historic interest. The two cast ornamental lions adjacent to the Cafe are believed to have initially belonged to Pope Leo X, and, therefore were created around the year 1500.

Layton Allotments Open Day - 25/07/10

Yesterday I visited a local allotment open day at Layton. All-in-all it was a well organised fund raising event held by the kind volunteers and committee members of Layton allotments. There was various stalls, fresh fruit and veg for sale, live jazz and plenty of plot holders on standby to offer their advice and tips. There is another open day event being held on the 1st August at Lawson Road allotments for anyone interested in 'growing their own' or to simply have a nose and show your support.

Bloomfield Road, Half-a-Job

Pictured above, the state of the pavement after recent ground work on Bloomfield Road. Please, someone tell this is not the finished job, it looks a right bodge. Additionally, either end of the bay parking are beds filled with soil. It has been some weeks since the work stopped and there is nothing 'blooming' in them apart from weeds! The word 'scruffy' springs to mind.

Hoopla Stall

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7764159/Blackpool-hoopla-tourist-game-impossible-to-win-court-told.html

This is something I have been meaning to blog about for a while now. A few weeks back, I decided to take a detour along Blackpool's front. I mistakenly walked past one of the Hoopla stalls when a husky voice shouted 'Allright mate, where you from?' confronting me head on. I replied 'Sorry, no thank you, I am local', he muttered back in sheer ignorance repeating exactly what I had just said 'Uhhhh, sorry i'm local'. The cheek and rudeness of it.

Everyday, tourists old and new are harassed by these operators who mislead and pressure them offering varying incentives and free games to get them to part with their cash. Once taken in, they make it difficult for the player to leave. Those who say no, often fall victim of verbal abuse.

The stalls are total and utter tac and in my view do nothing but tarnish Blackpool's new image. It was not so long ago one stall made headlines in the local paper, some of you may remember this.

Two words... get rid!